One of the local Large Billed Crows playing around in the snow a few days ago. They are pretty smart birds these corvids. They know that Tuesday/Friday is burnable garbage day (or they can recognise the red coloured bags). Woe betide anyone who doesn't close the lid on the garbage basket.......the local garbage Nazis would be straight round wagging accusing fingers as the crows spread the rotting vegetables all around the neighbourhood.
The juvenile Night Heron was still around today. I walked down the river to the beach under very grey skies. 3 Redpoll were the main birds of interest although I couldn't get any decent photos. I wasn't carrying the big lens anyway. My plan was to go to a place at the mouth of the river where I saw a male Blue Rock Thrush several times last winter and I have also seen Black Necked/Slavonian Grebes close inshore. There were a couple of Black Necked Grebes bobbing around 100 metres offshore (and a few Brent Geese too) and the Thrush was there but all too briefly and not especially close...........here's a crappy record shot.
Around December 23 down the years:
1983 (Dec 23) Marshside. 2 lifers, Stonechat (!) and Twite. Also lots of waders of 12 species, 3 species of Swan, and 3 Hen Harrier.
1991 (Dec 24) a Great Grey Shrike at Rufford, the only one I've ever seen.
1996 (Dec 24) back in Penwortham for xmas (I was living in Germany at the time). Not much except a flock of 40 Brambling on the Ribble.
2000 (Dec 24) A hunting Peregrine from my balcony in Hakodate.
2001 (Dec 25) Onuma. I proposed to my wife. I had the mother of all hangovers at the time, we fed the Whooper Swans, had lunch and went home. She said yes anyway.
2004 (Dec 21) the last time I was back in the UK and a trip up the river in Penwortham. Thousands of Woodpigeon, flocks of redwing and Fieldfare, skeins of Pinkfeet in the distance, a few common waders.......
2005 (Dec 26) a Great White Egret flapped over my flat.
2006 (Dec 25) Kamiso......we saw a Peregrine catch its' christmas lunch, a female Teal. 3 species of Grebe, 3 White Fronted Goose and 2 Great White Egret were also present. A bit low on decent photos today so here's one of a Ural Owl I took on December 20 last year at Onuma.
We saw this bird several times last winter but it hasn't appeared this winter (or at least it's moved hole).
So Happy Christmas to the tiny number of regular readers to this blog.
Merry Christmas!
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